Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an Emmy Award-winning American actress, known for playing Kelly Bundy on the long-running FOX Broadcasting Company sitcom Married… with Children. She has since established a film and television career, with major roles in several pictures, such as Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, The Sweetest Thing, Anchorman, Farce of the Penguins. She has also starred in numerous productions including the 2005 Broadway revival of the musical Sweet Charity. More recently, she plays the lead character, Samantha Newly in the ABC sitcom Samantha Who?

Early life

Applegate was born in Hollywood, California. Her father, Robert W. Applegate, was a record producer and record company executive, and her mother, Nancy Lee Priddy, was a singer and actress. Her parents split up shortly after her birth. She has two half-siblings (Alisa and Kyle) from her father's remarriage. Following her parents' divorce, her mother had a relationship with musician Stephen Stills. It was through Stills' friendship with fellow musicians Paul Kantner and Grace Slick that Applegate became friends with their daughter, China Kantner.

Early career

At the age of three months, Christina Applegate made her TV debut, appearing with her mother in the soap Days of Our Lives and later, at age five, in a commercial for Playtex. Her first big screen appearance followed at age 7, when she was seen in the 1979 film, Jaws of Satan (a.k.a. King Cobra), followed by 1981's Beatlemania. She debuted in a television movie as Young Grace Kelly in the biopic, Grace Kelly (1983, opposite Cheryl Ladd), and appeared on her first TV series in Showtime's political comedy, Washingtoon (1985), in which she played a Congressman's daughter. She was also spotted as a guest in the shows, Father Murphy (1981) and Charles in Charge (1984 and 1985).

In 1986, Applegate won the role of Robin Kennedy (1986-1987), a cop's daughter, on the police drama series Heart of the City. Meanwhile, she was also seen guest starring in the sitcoms All is Forgiven, Still the Beaver, Amazing Stories, and Family Ties episode Band on the Run (1987) as Kitten.

Applegate eventually scored her most memorable role of ditzy Kelly Bundy in Fox's comedy series Married... with Children. She portrayed her character for ten years (1987-1997). While working on the series, Applegate was seen in Dance 'Til Dawn (1988, NBC) and in Streets (1990), in which a teenage drug addict is stalked by a psychotic police officer. Applegate guest-starred in 21 Jump Street (1988), Top of the Heap (1991, as Kelly Bundy), and hosted Saturday Night Live (May 8, 1993) and Mad TV (1996).

In 1991, she was mentioned in the popular song by P.M. Dawn entitled "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss". The line, "Christina Applegate, you gotta put me on" is a reference to the song "Bonita Applebum" by A Tribe Called Quest.